Lory's Majestic Error
by herpaderpproductions
Summary: Two-shot. Lory decides that he's waited long enough for his ship to set sail, so he tries to speed up the course of nature. Of course, the best laid plans always have their flaws. Mildly OOC
1. Part 1: The Set-up

**Lory's Majestic Error**

A/N: This is something of a companion fic to A Life in Headlines, but it's more humorous, and contains actual dialog and plot rather than media reports. While A Life in Headlines focused on many incidents in Kuon's life as reported by the media, this fic focuses on one particular incident in Ren's life both as reported by the media, and from the perspective of those involved.

Also, I suppose you could consider this OOC or AU, as I don't think Lory would actually be stupid enough to do this – he'd be able to see the consequences – but I thought it may be funny to write about what would happen if he was stupid enough to set this up. Other characters may be OOC as well, as I'm not good at writing from the point of view of anyone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat. If I did, I would not be as frustrated as Lory at the lack of any romantic developments.

* * *

 **Ren Tsuruga Found With Underage Girl in his Bed!**

On this morning's edition of the prank show Doki Doki Wake-up, there was a major surprise. The live special featured the hosts going into Japan's Most Eligible Bachelor, Ren Tsuruga's (21), apartment for a wake-up call and tour. What the hosts did not expect to find was Tsuruga's fellow LME actress, Kyouko (17), in his bed. The actress was found wearing Ren's shirt on the actor's bed, while the actor himself was sleeping next to her holding her hand.

Upon further inquiry, fans found security footage of the building showing that Kyouko comes to Ren's apartment at odd hours of the night, often with large bags of groceries. An anonymous source has also reported that the actress has stayed the night at his apartment in the past. The two have previously denied being in a relationship beyond that of good friends. LME would not comment on the matter.

* * *

The security department of LME was certainly confused when the President of the agency asked them to watch out for and inform him of any and all interactions happening between Tsuruga Ren and Mogami Kyoko. They considered protesting, but knew it was futile in the face of their boss's eccentricities. One of the officers most vehemently opposed to this change happened to be on staff that night. He sighed as he saw Ren go to knock on the Love Me room and knew he had to pick up the phone.

Lory was sitting in his office filling out some paperwork when the phone rang. While he would normally route the call to Sebastian, any call at this hour from the security department had to be important. A voice on the other line informed him something interesting was happening on the security cameras in the area of the building surrounding the Love Me locker room. Because this matter likely concerned his favorite LME employees, Lory dropped the paperwork and turned on the feed. He watched the feed with keen interest until Ren's car left the parking garage, and knew what he had to do.

"Sebastian. What's the name of that show? The one that specializes in surprise wake-up calls aired live?"

"Doki Doki Wake-up, sir."

"Ask Yashiro if he could get Ren on the show tomorrow morning. This is an important matter."

"I will do as you ask, sir."

"Oh, and tell them to pick up the spare keys to his apartment at LME tomorrow before they go."

* * *

Ren Tsuruga was just finishing a long day of work, as per usual, but today was a special day: today was one of the few days he ended his day at LME while Kyoko should have still been there. Or, at least, that's what Yashiro's schedule for her indicated. Ren had never asked Yashiro why he would always keep Kyoko's schedule on his person despite not being her manager, but Ren was certain it had to do something with Yashiro's determination to have him meet Kyoko regularly. Not that he minded that.

What Ren did mind were the rare days Yashiro's schedule was wrong, and today appeared to be one of those days. Kyoko was nowhere to be seen in the halls of LME, so Ren decided to head up to the Love Me locker room in a final attempt to track her down. As usual, he felt obligated to at least ask her if she would like a ride home, even if he knew she would likely refuse. One of the few things Ren had retained from Kuon was his insatiable desire to get what he wanted, even if he was now more tactful and patient about actually getting it.

As he went to knock on the door of the locker room, he noticed it slightly ajar. It was usually only unlocked or opened if the girls were inside, but he didn't hear any voices or the rustling of clothes.

"Mogami-san?"

No answer.

"Mogami-san?"

Still silence.

"Mogami-san?"

After the third attempt, Ren began to wonder if anything was wrong. Certainly it was possible that someone had left the door open accidentally, or Kyoko had just went for a quick trip to the bathroom, but Ren could not shake his worry. He cautiously opened the door and peered inside to find Kyoko asleep on the job – which was highly uncharacteristic of her. Her face was pale, her lips chapped, and her posture poor. Something had to be wrong.

Ren slowly walked over to her and placed a hand on her forehead. Although he was not quite sure what constituted a fever, he could tell she was at least warmer than usual. Ren began to troubleshoot: although he had never cared for anyone who was sick before, he knew he wanted to do something for Kyoko. He checked her locker to see if he could get her keys or wallet out to take her home, but it was locked. Thankfully she had her phone in her pocket so he was able to send a message to her landlords to inform them of her condition.

He pondered if he should take her back to the Daruma-ya, but with no reply from her landlords Ren was concerned they were asleep and therefore unable to help Kyoko. He decided that he wanted to take her home with him. He tried to convince himself that this wasn't what he secretly had wanted all along, after all, he _was_ only caring for her because he couldn't get her into her apartment.

Yashiro was in a meeting, and could get home by public transit, so Ren saw no need to wait for him to leave. Immediately he put his (not quite thought out) plan into motion. He kissed Kyoko on the forehead before he picked her up, and began the slow journey down to his car.

He somehow managed to get her buckled in to the passenger seat of his car, and began the drive home. During the ride, he heard a yawn, and noticed that Kyoko had woken up.

"Ah, Mogami-san…"

"Ts-Tsuruga-san?" she said groggily, "Where am – wait – why am I in your car? Where are we going? I'm supposed to be at work." Despite her previous grogginess, her realization quickly woke her up.

"You feel asleep in the Love Me Room. When I found you, you looked very sick, so I decided to take you to my home," he replied calmly.

"I can't burden you like that, Tsuruga-san! Just take me back to the Daruma-ya. I'll be okay!"

"I want to take care of you, Mogami-san. Are you saying you don't want me to?"

Kyoko froze as the Emporer of the Night made his appearance. She replied with a small nod, and Ren kept driving.

* * *

After pulling into his apartment building, Ren helped Kyoko get out of the car. As she stood up, she began to sway back and forth, leading her to lean on his car.

"Mogami-san! Are you okay?"

"Just… Just a bit dizzy," she slurred.

"I'm going to help you until we get to my apartment," he insisted, "you're not well."

"N-no. I'm okay."

"I insist," he responded as he put his arm around her shoulders, "you won't be able to make it on your own." Ren then flashed one of his brilliant but threatening smiles at her and Kyoko once again gave in.

He helped guide her to the elevator before helping her sit down on the floor for the duration of the ride up. When they reached his floor, he once again held onto her as they walked to his door. Upon arriving at Ren's apartment, Kyoko stumbled to the guest bathroom as quickly as she could in her condition, and began to throw up into the toilet.

Ren contemplated running after her before deciding against it – he still had no idea how to take care of a sick girl, so he needed to use any time he could to figure it out. He went to the living room and collapsed onto the couch. Not wanting to wait for his laptop to start up, Ren began furiously typing on his phone. After skimming parenting blog after parenting blog he finally had some idea of what to do. His tenuous knowledge of kanji relating to medicine meant he had to go to English language sites, and he was unsure if Kyoko would agree to the Western ways of home care, but he had to do what he could understand. Through translators he was able to figure out what medicine to get, and added it to his list of things to get for Kyoko.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Kyoko had come out of the bathroom looking exhausted. Her clothes had become sweaty and smelled of vomit, so Ren immediately ran to find her something to wear. Quickly grabbing one of his shirts (he didn't have time to check how nice it was, and frankly he didn't care) and a pair of sweatpants, he put them on the guest bed.

"Mogami-san, I've put some clothes out for you in the guest room. Why don't you change into them? Your current clothes must be uncomfortable," Ren called out. Slowly she came into the room and walked to the bed. She paused for a moment before he understood that he would need to leave the room. He waited outside the door while she changed. It was one of the few times that night he had let the thought of her wearing his clothes creep into his mind. Most of that night he was consumed by worry: worry that he was scaring her, worry that he was doing this wrong, worry that she was afflicted with more than just the stomach flu, worry that he wasn't good enough to care for her.

"Tsuruga-san," Kyoko said, interrupting his thought process.

"Ah! Mogami-san, are you okay?"

She opened the door, showing that she was dressed in his clothes. She was holding her Love Me uniform and white t-shirt in one arm, and appeared to be looking for somewhere to wash them.

"I'll wash those for you," Ren said, slowly grabbing the clothes from her as to not scare her. "I'll be right back." He opened the closet with his rarely-used washer and dryer before throwing her clothes in for a cycle. Taking the few steps down the hall back to the guest room, he contemplated what his parents did for him the one time he was ill. He went to check in on Kyoko, who had managed to get herself into bed in the short time he'd been gone, and then went to find a trash can.

After grabbing the trash can, Ren noticed she had already fallen asleep, so he placed the towel he had grabbed next to her pillow, and put the trash can down next to the bed. Ren also left a note to say he was going to the store to get some supplies, but he hoped she would stay asleep long enough to make the note unnecessary.

* * *

Upon his return to his apartment, Ren got back to work. He put the salty crackers he found on the counter with the medicine, and put a pot of water out to boil for when Kyoko wanted to eat. The water bottle would go with him straight to Kyoko. He walked at a brisk pace to the guest room door and knocked. There was no answer, so he decided she must still be asleep.

Ren opened the door and found quite the opposite of what he had hoped. Instead of sleeping peacefully, Kyoko was kneeling and gasping for breath over the trash can. He saw that she had accidentally gotten sick all over the sheets while he was out.

"Mogami-san! Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, Tsuruga-san. I think I'm feeling all better now," she replied, still gasping.

"I'll wash the sheets for you. Why don't you go to my room and rest on my bed. I'll bring you some food and fresh clothes," he said, knowing it would likely be in vain. He was wrong, as she was too tired to protest, and began to hobble straight to his room. Ren followed her until he was sure she was safely in his bed, and began to get to work.

After getting her a fresh change of clothes, brought crackers and the water bottle to Kyoko. He helped her break the crackers into small pieces to eat, and tipped the water bottle up to help get water to her mouth. Ren brought the medicine in with her food, and she dutifully took it, even if she insisted it wouldn't help. Once he was satisfied she had eaten enough and gotten her medicine, he got her two more towels and changed the trash bag in the can he had moved next to his bed.

Finally, he decided he had done all he could for her, and collapsed on his bed next to her before falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

Part one of this two-shot is done! Part two will be up… eventually? A time. It will be up at a time.

We have the set-up, and now we need the result: the wake up call.


	2. Part 2: The Wake-up Call

**Lory's Majestic Error**

A/N: I ship Ren/Kyoko like no other, so I'm a little disappointed I couldn't find a way to fit fluff into the story, but I felt it would be better for the story if they weren't actually in a relationship at this point. At the then there is something like fluff if you squint.

For the purposes of A Life in Headlines, I'd assumed they began a more romantic relationship shortly before Kyoko turned 18. Since this is a more humorous, somewhat OOC companion fic to ALiH, I'd assume they started dating at the same point. (If this did happen in the ALiH universe, it would be an accident, not Lory's plotting) In the scheme of the Skip Beat plot, then, I'd say it would probably be decently soon after the current arc, so Kyoko's having a weird Spring/Summer case of the flu.

(I'm aware there's no such thing as flu medicine you can get over the counter, but there is stuff for symptom relief on the market.)

As always, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat.

* * *

Kanae work up early, as usual. She quietly checked the news and her social media accounts while eating her breakfast, as usual. What was unusual, or rather unexpected, was the trend blowing up on nearly every site she visited: Tsuruga Ren would be today's victim on Doki Doki Morning.

Being from his agency, she was a bit surprised she hadn't heard rumors, but she did know that it was not uncommon for no one but those at the top to know about this show's plans so that the celebrity in question would be genuinely surprised. It wasn't unusual for the guest to be announced late the night before either, for the same reason. Despite this, Ren's fans were up early and writing in eager anticipation of his appearance.

She decided that she would resign herself to watch a show she normally despised, and turned her small TV on.

* * *

Lory and Yashiro had woken up early and both had sat on the couch in front of Lory's massive television. They had handed off the key to Ren's apartment an hour prior, and waited eagerly for the show to start. While Yashiro was slightly apprehensive about what his charge was doing, Lory was watching gleefully.

* * *

Sho had been dragged out of bed and to the set of his new music video. He sat half-asleep in a chair as the make-up artist tried her hardest to make him look presentable. The room had a TV on, which Sho found annoying. Morning shows were far too energetic to be on this early.

"Oh! It's on in five minutes," the make-up artist said as she changed the channel.

"What's on," Sho said groggily.

"You didn't hear about it," she asked in a surprised tone.

"No. I don't pay attention to that crap," he replied.

"Ah. Well, Tsuruga Ren is the guest on today's Doki Doki Wake-up. A lot of people are very excited," she said. That woke Sho right up.

"That second-rate actor's on it?"

"If you mean Tsuruga, yes," she replied.

He sat back in his chair and looked her dead in the eyes. "Work faster. I need to see this." Anything that humiliated Tsuruga was good in his eyes.

* * *

Lory may had called in the middle of the night, and he may have not liked that, but he certainly liked what the news was. Kuu's son would be featured on a wake-up show the morning after taking a sick Kyoko back to his apartment. While Kuu knew it was unlikely, he hoped to catch a glimpse of his son cuddling with his other son, or perhaps one son feeding the other. The possibilities were (almost) endless.

By the time is wait was over, it was mid-afternoon Los Angeles time, and Kuu was on a break from filming. He sat in his trailer huddled over a tablet with an illegal live-stream of the channel, waiting for the show to start. The stream would constantly cut out, and the quality was questionable, but he figured it would be on YouTube soon enough, so this could to do for now.

* * *

The cast and crew had arrived in front of Ren's apartment building twenty minutes before showtime, and found little trouble getting in. Apparently the security staff had been alerted to their presence. They had also been to this location a few times before, as many talents called it home, so the guards easily recognized them.

As was their standard protocol, only the two hosts and one cameraman went up to the celebrity's apartment so that little suspicion would be aroused and the other residents would be less likely to be disturbed. The rest of the cast was in a studio, watching live, with their reactions broadcast in the corner of the screen. Any crew needed on site sat in the show's broadcast truck.

On their way up to the apartment, and before the camera began to roll, the hosts began to discuss what they should do.

"Usually we just go straight to the wake-up call, but I'm sure we could spend more time dawdling beforehand. Lots of viewers will want to see Tsuruga-san's place since he's a pretty private guy," said Nakao, one host.

"Maybe. How much extra time did they give our segment today," questioned the other host, Takeda.

"You have thirty minutes," the producer replied through the earbud the hosts wore for communication with producers, "we were hoping you'd extend your usual interview, but if you'd like to explore a bit, LME approved that."

"Good. That's plenty of time. We just have to make sure to be quiet so we don't wake him up too early," said Takeda gleefully as the elevator doors opened. It was show time.

"Good morning! Welcome to another episode of Doki Doki Wake-up," Nakao whispered in his trademark harsh voice.

Takeda picked up with their routine greeting, modified for every show, "Today, we managed to book Japan's number one actor, Tsuruga Ren. Are you ready to see his sexy morning face?"

"Sexy?" Nakao quipped, "You like him in that way?"

"No! I'm just saying what his fans probably would call it."

"Are you saying you're a fan then, Takeda," Nakao smugly replied. This was their dynamic: although Takeda was more ruthless in real life, he was pegged as the bumbling idiot of their comedy duo.

"Well, I can't deny I have a poster of him," Takeda whispered back sheepily.

"Maybe he has that same poster," Nakao said as he unlocked the front door. They noticed that there were no shoes to be seen, but they took their shoes off out of respect.

"Why doesn't he take off his shoes when he comes in? That's weird," Takeda whispered.

Nakao chuckled at him in return, "not all Japanese people do that anymore. He's probably too busy to even think about it." As they walked a bit further, they entered the living room, "see, he's too busy to even act like a slob – like a normal bachelor would!"

The camera panned over the living room and showed off the dustless table, furniture, and, of course, his TV. As the hosts followed its path, they noticed one thing out of place: an English to Kanji dictionary on the table. They looked around for other books, and found a cabinet door ajar. Insides were shelves full of books, music, and DVDs. This was something they could latch onto.

"Apparently doesn't have enough time to learn Japanese either," Takeda quipped, picking up the kanji dictionary.

"But he is Japanese! I'd bet he just read so many English books he forgot how to read kanji," replied Nakao as he rifled through the books. "See, there's Japanese books on here!" He went to pull one out, only to find that next book on the shelf was the same book – in English. Or he assumed it was due to the cover design. He had forgotten English.

"Like most of these books are in English! There's so many kanji dictionaries as well. Is he even Japanese," Takeda wondered.

"Of course you idiot," Nakao shot back before playfully hitting him, "what else could he be? He's probably just trying to learn English so he can go to Hollywood or something." Somehow Nakao doubted that, but if the kept his books in a cabinet, he bet there was something Ren didn't want to share about his knowledge of English. He felt slightly guilty about exposing that, but wasn't that what they were here for? His act was all about sticking his nose where it didn't belong, after all. Even so, he felt it would be a good subject to drop.

Takeda hadn't gotten the same message, however, and moved to the DVDs and CDs. "These are all in English, except for his own stuff and old classic dramas from Japan. He has a lot of Hizuri Kuu. I'd bet he's a fan," Takeda pondered, "and the CDs are all classic rock. There's only one Japanese CD! That one Fuwa Sho single with the angels in the music video."

Nakao successfully got him away from the cabinet, "See? You were just looking in the wrong place," he said as he physically turned Takeda towards a massive shelf of Japanese books, framed by a CD tower and a DVD shelf, all filled with Japanese media. Perhaps Nakao was wrong – Ren probably just needed extra storage and kept the stuff his guests would enjoy on public view.

After some comments and quips about the books being boring old classics and the CDs being hits from ten years before, the hosts moved on to find the kitchen.

"So his secret to fitness seems to be those foreign salt crackers and boiled water," Takeda said, as he looked at the few things on the counter, "or at least I'd imagine he'd boil the water if it's sitting in a pot on the stove."

Nakao took inventory of the cooking utensils he found, as well as the ingredients in the kitchen. There was only a bag of rice and some bread for toast. "Well, he does seem to have all the stuff to make Japanese food, but none of the ingredients. Maybe the pot was meant for soup," he said, confused as well, "either way, there's not much to see here."

The producer called for a commercial interlude, and the two hosts shed their personas. The cameraman set the camera on the counter, waiting for the producer's next signal.

* * *

Kanae had judged the beginning of the show as relatively boring, but did not turn it off. She knew Kyoko went to Ren's apartment on occasion, so she had been curious as to what it looked like. The living room was just as Kyoko described, and though Kyoko had told Kanae Tsuruga Ren's English was as good as that of a native, she didn't believe her until she saw all of the English books and movies in his house. The one time she did crack a smile was when she saw the single Fuwa Sho CD/DVD pack. Kanae knew Ren hated Sho, so the only reason Ren would have it would be for the music video featuring Kyoko. That edition was also the only one with the music video making-of feature. He really did go out of his way to collect her work.

In the kitchen segment, Kanae knew that all of the cooking utensils were due to Kyoko's influence, and openly laughed when she saw Ren's lack of food. It was all exactly as her friend had described.

* * *

Lory and Yashiro had both been to Ren's apartment before, so they were thoroughly bored at the first segment. Both were silently glaring at the TV, waiting to see their favorite couple on screen.

* * *

Sho was thinking along the same lines as Lory and Yashiro. The segment was boring. He did laugh at their insults, particularly the jab Ren's knowledge of Japanese, but mostly it was just boring.

The make-up artist (and, as he noted, Tsuruga fangirl) was focused on the TV, and that somehow made the show both boring and annoying. There was a sexier guy right in front of her, under her fingers, so why couldn't she pay attention to him?

"Oh, just get on with it already! I wanna see that loser Tsuruga get rudely awoken," Sho yelled in frustration. The make-up artist stepped back for a moment before continuing her work.

* * *

Kuu's feed was still terrible, but he watched enraptured. He wanted to see his son, but it was good enough for now to just see the details of his son's life. Kuu smiled when he saw his work on Ren's shelves, and laughed as he saw all the classic literature in his son's collection. Kuon never would have read it for fun, Ren might. His smile grew as he saw Kyoko had stocked the kitchen with cooking utensils. Or, at least, he assumed it was her, neither Ren nor Kuon would have done that.

What did annoy him was the cleanliness of the place. If he could keep his apartment so clean now, why couldn't he keep his room clean when he was younger?

* * *

Back in Ren's apartment, the hosts had gotten the call that they would be on air again in ten seconds. They quickly straightened up and got in front of the camera, waiting for the signal to come.

"Welcome back to a special Doki Doki Wake-up: Wake-up Tsuruga Special," the hosts said together. They then engaged in banter summarizing their previous adventures in the living room and kitchen as they walked towards the bed rooms. Both had agreed to skip over the bathrooms – those weren't usually entertaining, and even for Takeda it went too far to explore them. Something had to be left sacred.

"This is it, right," Takeda whispered to the crowd, as if he could sense their anticipation as he stopped outside of a door. When he opened the door, it was rather anti-climactic: the room contained a small amount of work-out equipment and a mirror, but not much else.

"Let me try," Nakao said at the next door. He knew he would be wrong because of his experiences in previous apartments in this building, but he thought it would be funny for the audience and went for it. Nakao was not surprised when he was wrong, but he was surprised at Takeda's outburst.

"Eww! It smells like barf or something in here," he whispered. For the comic effect he also gagged.

Nakao looked in and followed Takeda's reaction with his own before quickly shutting the door. Before doing so, however, he noticed the sheets had been stripped off the bed and were in a pile near the door, likely for cleaning. He thought nothing of it at the time. If Tsuruga was sick, he probably didn't have enough time to clean his own bed, so quarantining any reaction to the guest bed would let him put off the problem until he had time (or a maid) to clean it up.

"You were wrong too, and in a much worse way," Takeda whispered to Nakao too softly for the microphones to pick up. He whispered more loudly so the audience could hear his next sentence, "So he is a foul bachelor after all. He just has a room to quarantine his hangovers to!"

Nakao agreed, "yeah, but we all know we wish we had one when we could get as many chicks as Ren! I actually have to clean up after myself, and even then I can't get girls!"

They approached the last door together, and knew they would have to pretend to open it before the commercial break, but wait to perform the actual deed until afterwards. Their producer cut them off as expected and called for a short commercial break.

* * *

Lory and Kuu, despite being on opposite sides of the world, were both excited. They had confirmation that their favorite couple would be in the in the same room, even if one was likely throwing up.

Yashiro, while as excited as Lory to see Ren and Kyoko likely sharing a bed, also found himself nervous. What if something very bad (or very good) had happened? What would the media think? Damage control would consume his life for the next week or two unless something else came up. He knew Lory wouldn't take responsibility.

* * *

Sho laughed more about the "barf-room" as he had dubbed it in his mind. Now the show was catching his attention; there was real dirt on Tsuruga here. His make-up artist played the room off as a bad joke, but Sho knew the truth and he was certain he was correct.

* * *

Kanae was slightly disgusted when she heard the hosts saying the guest room smelled like barf, but she knew Ren wouldn't keep a room like that. He was almost never sick, and he didn't have time to drink or do drugs that would make him throw up. Someone else had to be sick. Then it clicked.

Kyoko hadn't looked good the day before, but insisted that she was okay to work. Kanae was worried, but was not able to help Kyoko home because she had another job that evening. Chiori wouldn't have been able to come in that evening. Ren did drop into the Love Me room trying to find her in the evenings. Ren had to have been the one to take her home. If her keys were in her locker, he likely would have felt the need to care for her at his apartment instead of taking her home. The guest room must have smelled bad because Kyoko may have thrown up on the sheets. So, if she was nowhere else in the apartment, she must be… and Ren wouldn't leave her alone for too long while she was ill, so he must be…

She couldn't decide if it was a case of bad luck or scheming on Lory's part, but either way she knew this couldn't end well.

* * *

The hosts stayed in place for this commercial break, as they knew it would be short. They also knew staying in place would decrease the chance of an early wake-up, and would make for a smoother transition back to the show. As the producer counted down in their ears, they began to turn the knob together. While they had pranked famous celebrities like this before, they had never done it to someone so esteemed as Tsuruga. Mostly it was popular idols or comedians, with an actor or singer thrown in every so often for variety. Before, when they were not going to confront him, it was easier to be in the normal flow of their show. Now, their hearts were beating in anticipation. They had to do this right.

As the show came back, they opened the door fully and snuck in, cameraman in tow.

Before Nakao and the producer processed the situation and called for everybody to leave, the camera had captured all it needed to: displayed on the screens of millions of Japanese viewers, and the tablet of one Hizuri Kuu was a shocking scene. Kyoko was lying mostly under the covers at the edge of the bed near her trash can, but was obviously wearing an oversized white shirt. On the floor next to her lay two crumpled up towels, seemingly discarded hastily. Next to her lay Ren, whose hand had entwined itself with hers during the night. He was above the covers and fully dressed, but his belt had been thrown to the floor next to his side of the bed and his shirt was untucked messily. Both individuals had serious cases of bedhead from their ordeal the previous night, and Kyoko looked far from well-rested.

"Out!" Nakao barked into his comrades' ears as soon as he had finished taking in the situation, "we shouldn't be here!" He didn't care how loud he was, the two of them would be awoken soon by their agency's angry phone calls anyways. All three scrambled out to the living room to discuss what would happen next with their producer, who had hastily cut back to a spirited studio discussion.

* * *

Yashiro's joy at the scene on his TV was short-lived before he realized what this would mean for his charge, and how much paparazzi he would need to wade through for the next month.

Lory, who would have to join in on damage control duty, seemed to feel absolutely no fear. Instead, he was watching the screen quietly with a soft smile on his face. Yashiro was surprised with this subdued reaction, but he also knew that Lory knew more about Ren than he did. In some ways Lory was his father figure, so Yashiro assumed he was feeling pride for two of his favorite charges, who had finally appeared to show their feelings for each other.

After his realization, Yashiro joined Lory in his quiet enjoyment of the scene, now paused on Lory's TV screen. They figured they could enjoy it for now, and deal with the consequences later. After all, their chances of seeing their favorite pairing share a bed after this were low.

* * *

Kuu smiled with pride, not because his son was sharing a bed with his love – Kuu knew he hadn't admitted anything yet – but rather because he could see his son had done a good job caring for Kyoko. Despite his lack of experience caring for sick friends or family, Kyoko seemed to be sleeping peacefully enough.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was worried he wouldn't see something this cute, but since he did, Kuu knew Julie would have to see it. Oh, he could not wait for the HQ YouTube version to show up.

* * *

Kanae had hoped beyond hope that Kyoko was simply in the bathroom, or that she had left on her own, but she knew that it was unlikely. When the image appeared on screen to confirm her suspicions, she became worried: did this mean Kyoko would be too scandal-ridden for any future roles? Or would she graduate Love Me because she was opening up to Ren?

Kanae shut the TV off and went to work. She figured it was best not to think about it, and calling Kyoko was not an option at the moment if she was asleep. She needed to so something to warn Kyoko, so she began to type out a message on her phone.

* * *

As soon as the image of Kyoko and Ren popped up on the TV in Sho's dressing room, he threw his show straight at the TV, surprising the make-up artist. The TV broke.

"That… that bitch! How dare she be with that stupid two-bit actor! She's mine," he yelled. Shoko had come into the room as he continued to rant. The make-up artist explained the situation to her, but she felt it would be best to leave Sho be. Shoko led the poor woman out of the room and went to find whoever she needed to pay for the damage to the TV. Sho would not be feeling better any time soon.

Ten minutes later, all noise stopped from his dressing room, so Shoko felt it may be safe to go in. Opening the door, she noticed the last of his angry tears rolling down his cheeks, and decided to leave him be for the time being. In full costume, she saw him stomp out to the yard and off the set.

"Can we postpone the video shoot director," she asked apologetically, "it appears my charge has become frustrated with a personal matter."

* * *

As soon as he heard the word "Out," Ren awoke. He sat up in time to see a cameraman and two hosts leaving his room, although he couldn't identify who the hosts were. The only show that would pull the wake-up prank these days was one he couldn't put a name to, but he bet it was them. He noticed Kyoko moving to his side and stroked her forehead, feeling for a fever. She wasn't as warm as the night before, but he needed an excuse to keep her put.

"Tsuruga-san, what was that," she asked sleepily.

"I'll deal with it. You still appear to have a fever, so you should stay in bed and rest for now," he replied, trying to remain as calm on the inside as he appeared on the outside. He put his belt back on and tucked his shirt in. Walking to his mirror, he ran his fingers through his hair to make sure he was ready for battle, so to speak. One more time he walked over to Kyoko and told her to go back to sleep before leaving his room and walking down the hallway with purpose.

The producer insisted that the cameraman keep the camera on, and arranged to have the feed switch back to them once Ren showed up. And show up he did. Even the ruthless Takeda shrunk in fear as he watched a very, very angry Tsuruga Ren enter the room. Sure, he was smiling, but they could tell that it was not the type of smile you wanted to see on his face.

"Good morning. I see you've made yourselves comfortable," he said, almost too politely to be sincere. "I'm sorry I threw a wrench in your show's prank, but surely you understand that a surprise for me can lead to surprises for you." He sat down lazily on the couch and ran his hand through his hair once more.

"Ah – g-good morning T-tsuruga-san," Takeda shakily returned the greeting. "You aren't a morning person, are you?"

"Well, in this circumstance, no," he calmly responded. He knew he had to be more professional – he saw the camera rolling – but knew it would be best to stop the rumors before they got out of hand. "I was up most of the night taking care of a dear friend who has the flu, so I was not able to sleep much."

"If she had the flu, why did you share the bed with her? Shouldn't Japan's best actor avoid getting sick," Takeda asked. His true personality was beginning to show through due to his fear. Nakao was certainly not happy about this, and decided to try becoming more vocal.

"Is that why the guest room smelled like barf?" Nakao asked in a curious tone. He needed some funny question to break the tension. While he figured this wasn't the best question for the situation, it was all he could think of in the heat of the moment.

Oddly enough, or perhaps mercifully enough, Ren laughed. Nakao and Takeda couldn't tell if he was playing to the crowd or if he meant it as an insult. "Due to her illness, Mogami-san accidentally made the sheets dirty. I moved her to my bed, which was clean, intending to sleep out on the couch, but by that point I was so tired I just fell down and went right to sleep," he replied with thinly-veiled malice.

"What did you do to her," Nakao asked.

"What did she do to you, you mean," Takeda repeated after scrambling the words.

Another possibly fake laugh. "I had been up since 5:30, and did not get to bed until around 2:00. She did nothing to me. I wanted to take care of her. I tired myself out, but I have no regrets about it whatsoever. Now, if you'll excuse me, she needs her medicine." Ren went off into the kitchen and grabbed the medicine from the night before along with a fresh water bottle and more crackers. With his hands full he lumbered back down the hallway to tend to Kyoko's needs.

* * *

Both Nakao and Takeda were scared to death. It was their most important celebrity wake-up call yet, and it had been entirely botched. They had pissed off Tsuruga Ren. That could not be good. Not only that, but causing a scandal for Japan's leading actor would not be good for their careers. For now, the show must go on.

"He's really scary in the morning, isn't he," Nakao suggested.

"I can't see why," Takeda replied, "he seemed perfectly awake to me."

"Well, he is an actor. Maybe he can act more awake than he is, or maybe he acted asleep?"

"But if he was only acting asleep, wouldn't he have moved her?"

"For once, you're probably right," Nakao laughed nervously.

The producer informed them that the segment was being cut off in favor of more studio reactions and discussion, and that they could go home. It should've been a relief, but getting cut off your segment early was never a good thing. They all prepared to quietly leave the apartment, but were caught.

"Before you go, I would be interested to know: who sent you?" Ren was standing in the doorway to the living room, holding an empty bottle of water. Nakao, Takeda, and their cameraman all bowed to him and apologized profusely for the inconvenience. Perhaps that would help their situation.

"We- we're from Doki Doki Wake-up," Nakao sheepishly said.

"I don't mean that," Ren said, "you and your show didn't just come here. Someone arranged this with you. Do you know who that was?"

"Look. We don't know. Usually we know where we're going a week in advance, but we didn't find out about today until late last night, just like the fans," Takeda said, defending himself, "in fact, we were supposed to go somewhere else, but our bosses insisted we switch our destination."

"So this may have been arranged as late as last night," Ren mumbled. He was beginning to get an idea of what was going on. "What time did you get the call informing you of the change?"

"Maybe… 10:30? Do you want to ask our producer about who arranged this," Nakao asked, trying to appease the actor.

Ren contemplated this. He had left LME with Kyoko around 9:30. Yashiro's meeting probably got out shortly after, but he wasn't sure about when. If Lory had somehow caught him leaving with her, he may have been able to get Yashiro to arrange this. They knew the show wouldn't turn someone so high-profile down. But why? Neither was so stupid as to think that this would be good for an image. Then again, both of them were looking for any suggestion of a relationship between him and Kyoko. Perhaps they wanted to see any sort of affection between the two of them, and so much so that they would risk the careers of both.

"You can go home. I'm sorry for causing you this trouble," Ren took his turn to bow to them.

"I assumed you figured it out, then," Takeda questioned.

"Yes, yes I did, and they will be getting a call soon enough," Ren explained with a brilliant smile on his face.

The hosts and their cameraman took that as a cue to leave. They practically bolted out of the apartment, vowing never to return.

* * *

Ren decided that he did not need to call Lory. He didn't have any work until 11:00, and it being only 7:45, he didn't need to be up for an hour. He saw no need to look out his window for the inevitable army of paparazzi waiting outside or to check social media to see the reaction of his fans. Instead, all he wanted to do was get back into his bed, so that was what he did.

* * *

Kyoko awoke feeling much better than the previous morning. She was filled with fuzzy memories of going to Ren's apartment and getting some medicine from him, but she could not recall exactly what happened. She heard voices in the living room, one of which was Ren's, but couldn't make out what they were saying. She looked around the room and realized that during the night she must have been moved there, but she was unclear as to why. Just as she was ready to get up and investigate, Ren walked in the door with the bottle of medicine.

"Mogami-san, I see you're awake," he said.

"What happened? Why am I in your bed?"

"Don't worry about it. For now, you have to rest and feel better," he said as he handed her the dose of the liquid he'd poured out for her. He left the bottle by her bed, and grabbed the empty water bottle she had drank the night before, "I have to deal with something. I'll be back soon." She tried to get up to help him, "this isn't something you should have to worry yourself with. The best thing you can do for yourself is to rest."

She finally lay back down, and he left the room.

After what felt like an eternity he finally came back and immediately laid himself on the other side of the bed. She heard soft snoring and assumed that he had fallen asleep. Kyoko took the chance to get up and find her things. Her clothes were nowhere to be found, but after seeing the state of the guest room, she assumed they had gotten dirty and Ren had decided to wash them – something she should have done. She found her cellphone on the counter of the kitchen and her shoes haphazardly thrown on the floor of the guestroom. After some effort, she found the washer and drier, but was dismayed that her clothes were not dried. Unfortunately, she was only familiar with hang-drying clothes, but tried to figure out the drier as best she could. After that was done, she put the putrid-smelling sheets from the guest room into the washer for cleaning. She could do that much.

She sat on the couch with her phone, waiting for Ren to wake up again so she could apologize, but when she turned her phone on, she realized she had much more to attend to. Sawara-san had already left a message, along with three from Lory. She didn't dare check those. She would call to apologize for falling asleep on the job. Her landlords had left her a message the night before, but it had only said that they had hoped she felt better. They also asked her to thank Ren for them because he had taken care of her while they were out for the night. An unidentified number, she assumed it was Sho, had left two messages, both filled with incoherent yelling. One more came from that number – a formal apology from Shoko on behalf of her charge.

What did intrigue her was the string of texts from Kanae, asking if she was okay and warning her to stay put, and telling her to not turn on any television or read any newspapers for any reason. Had something happened? Did it have to do with the voices she heard in Ren's living room this morning? She immediately went to check the news on her phone's browser.

* * *

Ren awoke before his alarm to a loud, girlish scream. He checked next to him, but Kyoko had left in the bed. Was something wrong? Did something happen? Did her illness get worse? "KYOKO! I'm coming to help," he yelled at her as he sprinted out of his room looking for her.

He found her shaking nervously in the living room, holding her phone and apologizing profusely to no one in particular. "Kyoko, what's wrong?!"

She did nothing in response but hold her phone up to him, showing him a short article about that morning's episode of Doki Doki Wake-up. He paused, wondering what to do.

"I-I'm sorry, Tsuruga-san! My illness caused you trouble," she cried, "this could damage your career."

"It's not a problem, Mogami-san. I'd do this again, any day, any time," he said. He wanted to add 'because I love you,' but he knew she wasn't ready to hear that yet. That would be too much in one day. "It's no problem at all," he said as he sat down next to her and hugged her. She did not resist, and they stayed curled up on the couch for most of the morning.

He knew he had to leave at some point, and Kyoko had fallen back asleep. He covered her in a blanket and left her a note.

 _Mogami-san,_

 _I'm sorry about all the trouble this morning, and even sorrier I had to leave you. Please stay and rest here until this evening. I will be back to help with some food for you._

 _-Ren_

* * *

Reality finally hit Yashiro and Lory as both of their phones were ringing off the hook with calls from tabloids, newspapers, and colleagues demanding to know about the incident. They took all of those calls, only to say no comment while they tried to hastily put together something to satisfy the media's curiosity. The only call they rejected? Ren's.

When the man in question came storming into Lory's office at 10:30, both Yashiro and Lory could feel the anger pouring off of him. As he sat down in a chair wearing a bright smile, they knew they were in trouble. "So, who would like to take responsibility for this?"

* * *

Well, that's the end of that. If you'd like an epilogue or something, I may consider adding one, but I think that that was a good way to end this mess. I'll leave what went down between Ren, Lory, and Yashiro to your imagination, but I would imagine it would involve much passive aggression, an entirely unapologetic Lory, and Yashiro being Yashiro.


	3. Part 3: The Headlines

**Lory's Majestic Error**

Summary: Two-shot. Lory decides that he's waited long enough for his ship to set sail, so he tries to speed up the course of nature. Of course, the best laid plans always have their flaws. Mildly OOC

A/N: Well, people wanted an epilogue or sequel of some kind, so here it is. I don't really have an inspiration for it, so it's going to be a bit derpy and disjointed and such.

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat.

* * *

 **Fuwa Storms Off Set**

Social media posts from an anonymous staff member working on Fuwa Sho's new promotional video seems to indicate that the singer stormed off the set in costume before his make-up was completed. The staffer commented that he had become angry during the process of make-up application. A picture showed a smashed television in Fuwa's dressing room, along with items thrown all over the floor in what appears to be a fit of anger.

The anonymous staffer would not expand further when reached for comment, but said he did not know why Fuwa had become angry. Another staffer we talked to, who had worked on Sho's previous music video featuring the actress Kyoko said that Fuwa seemed to keep a constant eye on her during shooting, and suggested that his fit may be related to the discovery of the actress in Tsuruga Ren's bed on this morning's Doki Doki Wake-up.

Fuwa's agency has been reached for comment.

* * *

 **Underage Singer Spotted at a Bar**

After it was first reported in a social media post that Fuwa Sho had ditched the set of his music video in costume and make-up, the singer's fans were on the lookout. Fans posted photos and descriptions of him walking angrily through the streets of Tokyo. They reported that unlike his normal flirty self he was unwilling to talk to fans.

Fans having breakfast at a bar and restaurant near the studio where the music video was to be filmed posted a video of him demanding a bottle of beer from the bartender. The seventeen-year-old singer's request was denied numerous times, during which he is shown to berate and attempt to bribe various staffers at the bar. Video also shows him asking patrons to buy him a drink before he finally gave up and left the bar.

Fuwa's agency has commented that the singer will be "disciplined accordingly," and apologized for any trouble he brought to his fans or the restaurant.

* * *

 **LME President Takes Blame**

On a conference call to the media today, the President of Tsuruga Ren and Kyoko's agency, Lory Takarada, explained why the two were caught in bed together this morning. Interestingly, he proudly insisted that it was his doing.

Takarada explained that Kyoko had come to work appearing ill, but refused to leave until she had completed her tasks for that day. After her tasks were completed it appears she returned to her division's locker room. Neither of her coworkers were there at the end of the day due to shooting conflicts, and therefore no one was aware that she had fallen asleep. Kyoko's landlords were out of town, and therefore did not call to check in with the company when she did not return on schedule. She remained asleep until Tsuruga came to offer her a ride home. At this point, Takarada admits to watching on security camera as Tsuruga carried the actress down to his car and drove off. He believed Tsuruga would take her back to her apartment, as Takarada claims Ren is, "aggravatingly polite," and, "would never take her to his apartment without permission," but he knew that there was a chance Tsuruga would do so if he could not get her into her apartment.

Tsuruga's manager, Yashiro Yukihito, was ordered by Takarada to get him booked onto Doki Doki Wake-up this morning. When asked why, Takarada said his reasons were primarily selfish: "Ren is very boring. He has no scandals and is never in the papers except during his movie promos. I figured if Kyoko was not at his home, Ren would have still taken care of her and would be very tired, which is always an entertaining state. If Kyoko did come to his home, it would be a scandal in the papers."

When asked if he regretted what he did, Takarada denied it, "I would do this again. Ren has certainly gotten more interesting. I've even seen international media outlets covering this story." Takarada also says he is taking the blame to minimize the damage to Kyoko's career: "The two are not dating [he grumbled something unintelligible here – colleagues believe it was 'unfortunately'], and Kyoko did nothing wrong, so I believe she should not have her career ruined as a result." After a reporter pointed out that he implied _Tsuruga_ did do wrong, Takarada explained that since the two were not in a relationship, he did not believe it was proper that the two shared a bed, which he certainly did not expect and made the situation worse than it had to be.

* * *

 **Tsuruga Fans Enamored by Scandal**

While a loud minority of Tsuruga Ren's fans are outraged that the underaged actress, Kyoko, was found in his bed this morning, a larger majority says it makes him more attractive.

Of the two hundred Tsuruga fans we polled, ten said they were angry and would likely stop supporting him. "He betrayed my trust. Even if he insists she's not his girlfriend, it was easy to tell his feelings by the way he cared for her," said one anonymous fan. Another said, "Tsuruga should not be in a bed with an underage girl, even for an innocent reason. It's perverse."

Despite these comments, one hundred fans were neutral on the issue saying that it did not change their image of him. "Tsuruga was simply doing the polite thing, since he was the only one available to help her out. It was something I'd expect any friend to do for another," according to one poll-taker. A third group of fans took a more extreme stance: increased affection. One older fan said, "it is always refreshing to see a young man taking the time to care for others. This shows he is a good man and that it's not just an act." A younger fan was attracted for a different reason. "If he cares for his friends like this, imagine how he would be to a girlfriend! I find it very attractive," gushed one fan only slightly older than Kyoko herself.

Unlike Fuwa Sho, whose recent temper tantrum and attempt to get alcohol caused a scandal the same morning, it appears that Tsuruga will get out of his better. The majority of his fanbase seems unaffected by what happened, and his boss has cleared him of responsibility for the incident. Fuwa's scandal has also somewhat overshined domestically his due to the nature of the singer's actions, so there has also been less news coverage of the issue. Neither man has spoken out about their scandal.

* * *

 **Tsuruga Ren and Kyoko Speak Out for the First Time Since Scandal**

In an exclusive interview with us, both Tsuruga Ren and Kyoko have spoken about the scandal caused by their appearance on the TV show Doki Doki Wake-up. On an episode of the show aired last week, Kyoko was found asleep with Tsuruga in his bed. As confirmed by their agency, the two are only friends. Kyoko, who was ill, was being taken care of by Tsuruga. He allowed her to sleep on his bed because she had vomited on the guest room sheets. Although Tsuruga intended to sleep on the couch, he claims he collapsed on the bed in exhaustion.

Kyoko has apologized profusely for the trouble she has caused Tsuruga. She said, "Tsuruga-san is my sempai. He was only trying to help me and yet I caused him even more trouble. I am incredibly sorry. I would like to apologize to him and his dedicated fans," the actress got out. At this point Tsuruga was trying to cheer her up and insisted that he was at fault, but Kyoko remained hunched over in embarrassment and shame.

After his attempt to comfort Kyoko, Tsuruga explained the situation from his end, "although we are not currently in a relationship, I feel a strong affection for her," he said, "when I saw that she was in trouble, I could not think of anything but helping her. I've never cared for someone who was ill before, so I was rather sloppy about it, but I was very happy to help her." It was his turn to hang his head in shame as he explained what might be one of the few flaws of his we've seen, but he was quick to laugh about it afterwards. When asked if he would do it again, he said, "certainly. I was not happy to be woken up like that, but I would be woken up a thousand times if that was what it took to take care of her."

Kyoko blushed profusely at this comment. "You don't have to do that," she blurted out in response. She explained that she did not even know what had happened until her friend had informed her. She says she was shocked to find it out, but that she was still grateful that Tsuruga would put his reputation on the line in order to help her feel better.

Although both denied being in a relationship, there appears to be an obvious affection between the two. As Kyoko appears to believe that any relationship between the two would be bad for Tsuruga Ren, it is likely that Tsuruga is trying to convince her that a relationship will not be a problem for him. For now, they agree, they'd like to maintain their friendship and focus on their work.

* * *

Post Script: Some people asked me to write reaction like stuff, so here it is. It was written quickly and such. Again, this isn't a shipping fic, so there's still no fluff. I'm bad at writing fluffiness, so it probably won't happen here.


End file.
